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A. N. Wilson

エー・エヌ・ウィルソン

Andrew Norman Wilson

Aliases: Andrew Norman Wilson

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1950-10-27 （Stone, Staffordshire, England）
Nationality
British
Languages
English
Religion
Church of England (Anglican)
Residence History
Stone (Staffordshire) → Oxford → London

Career

Occupations
Writer, Newspaper columnist, Biographer, Historian
Active Years
1972-
Affiliations
Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature
Memberships
Fellowship of the Royal Society of Literature
Influenced By
Leo Tolstoy, C. S. Lewis, Josiah Wedgwood (subject of study)
Influenced
Contemporary biographers and cultural historians

Education

St Dominic's Priory School, Stone
Period: 初等〜中等教育（年不詳）
Country: England
Attended primary/early secondary education at the school
Hillstone School (later Malvern College)
Period: 〜中等教育
Country: England
Attended in Great Malvern
Rugby School
Period: 13歳〜（在学期間は一部）
Year of Graduation: 1968
Country: England
Attended from age 13; gained press attention for an article in the school magazine
St Stephen's House, Oxford
Theology
Period: 在学1年（神学校としての在籍）
Country: England
One year at the seminary; experience influenced later fiction
New College, Oxford
Humanities / English (major not specified)
Period: 〜1972
Year of Graduation: 1972
Country: England
Graduated in 1972

Awards

Somerset Maugham Prize
Organization: UK literary organisations
Result: winner
John Llewellyn Rhys Prize
Organization: John Llewellyn Rhys Prize organisation
Result: winner
Whitbread Award (Biography)
1988
Work: Tolstoy: A Biography
Category: Biography
Organization: Whitbread (now Costa)
Result: winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Resolution

2016 Historical novel 352 pages

A historical novel portraying Captain Cook's second voyage through the eyes of naturalist Georg Forster, dealing with exploration, natural history and personal conflict.

ExplorationImperialismNatural history

Winnie and Wolf

2007 Fiction (historical) 304 pages

A fictional account of the relationship between Adolf Hitler and Winifred Wagner, blending historical fact and imaginative reconstruction.

Power and influenceTradition and musicReconsideration of history

The Victorians

2002 History / Non-fiction 512 pages

A major study surveying Victorian-era society, thought and culture, covering politics, religion and literature.

Social historyReligion and moralityCultural history

Bibliography

  • The Sweets of Pimlico (1977)
  • Unguarded Hours (1978)
  • Tolstoy: A Biography (1988)
  • The Victorians (2002)
  • Betjeman (2006)
  • Winnie and Wolf (2007)
  • Victoria: A Life (2014)
  • Charles Darwin, Victorian Mythmaker (2017)
  • Confessions: A Life of Failed Promises (2022)
  • Goethe: His Faustian Life (2024)

Adaptations

  • BBC documentary: The Genius of Josiah Wedgwood (2013)
  • BBC documentary: Narnia's Lost Poet (2013)
  • BBC documentary: Return to Betjemanland (2014)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Clear, critically engaged prosePsychological depth in biographiesAccessible reinterpretation of history and ideas
Recurring Motifs
Issues of religion and beliefVictorian culture and moralityMoral contradictions of individuals

Legacy

A. N. Wilson is a prolific writer known for critical biographies, popular history and fiction; his often-controversial arguments have attracted attention. He is widely read in biography and cultural history and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.

Academic Societies

  • Royal Society of Literature

Archives

  • British Library (possible holdings)

In Popular Culture

  • Appearances and documentaries on the BBC

Quotes

  • Wilson's forte is character; he brilliantly conveys the subject's inner life and sociability.
    Source: Lynn Barber (review in The Daily Telegraph) (2006)

Trivia

  • After graduating from New College, he spent a short time at a seminary; that experience inspired some fiction.
  • He was the victim of a hoax when a falsified letter appeared in his biography of John Betjeman.